This was a major engagement of the American Civil War, and between December 31 and January 2, 1863, the rival armies suffered a combined total of 23,515 casualties.

It is usually considered a Union victory, since afterward General Bragg retreated 36 miles (58 km) south to Tullahoma.

The battle was significant since the Union gained a base from which it could push its eventual drive further south, which enabled its later advances against Chattanooga and Atlanta.

The Union eventually divided the territory into the Eastern and Western theaters, followed by Sherman's March to the Sea through the South.

General Rosecrans' move to the south depended on a secure source of provisions, and Murfreesboro was chosen for his supply depot.

Soon after the battle, Brigadier General James St. Clair Morton, Chief Engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, was ordered to build Fortress Rosecrans, some 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the town.

The fortress was built around the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and the West Fork of the Stones River; two roads provided additional access and transportation.

The fort's interior was a huge logistical resource center, including sawmills, warehouses, quartermaster maintenance depots, ammunition magazines, and living quarters for the 2,000 men who handled the operations and defended the post.

[16] The fortress was never attacked, in part because the Union troops held the town of Murfreesboro hostage by training their artillery on the courthouse.

Despite the wartime trauma, the town's growth had begun to recover by the early 1900s, in contrast to other areas of the devastated South.

[18] The city has been a destination for many refugee immigrants who have left areas affected by warfare; since 1990 numerous people from Somalia and Kurds from Iraq have settled there.

The county planning council had approved the project, but opposition grew in the aftermath, affected by this being a year of elections.

[21] In August 2011, a Rutherford County judge upheld his previous decision allowing the mosque to be built, noting the US constitutional right to religious freedom and the ICM's observance of needed process.

[24][25] In October 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit against the city, in response to the ban[26] and, in December 2023, the ordinance was repealed.

A stone monument marks the official site on Old Lascassas Pike, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of MTSU.

Parts of the 19-mile (31 km) long creek suffer from pollution due to the urban environment and its use as a storm-water runoff.

Under the Trewartha system, it is an oceanic (Do) climate due to five months of winter chill (monthly means below 50 °F (10 °C)); however, Murfreesboro is close to being humid subtropical (Cf) even under Trewartha (March falls 0.9 °F (−17.3 °C) short of the threshold), supported by the fact that subtropical plants like Southern magnolia trees and the occasional dwarf palmetto and needle palm shrubs can thrive long-term there but struggle much further north.

The wet season runs from February through July, reaching its peak in June with 144 millimetres (5.7 in) of rain.

[44] According to Murfreesboro's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[45] the top employers in Rutherford County are: Murfreesboro hosts several music-oriented events annually, such as the Main Street Jazzfest presented by MTSU's School of Music and the Main Street Association each May.

[46][48] Murfreesboro also hosts an annual DIY not-for-profit music festival called Boro Fondo, which is also a bike tour and local artist feature.

Groups from countries spanning the globe participate in the festival, performing traditional songs and dances while attired in regional apparel.

The grounds include a museum, a national cemetery, monuments, and the remains of a large earthen fortification called Fortress Rosecrans.

The museum opened in September 2014 and features more than 2,000 items on display, including a complete replica Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

The Historic Downtown Murfreesboro district also offers a wide variety of shopping and dining experiences that encircle the pre-Civil War Courthouse.

[59] As a commercial building its tenants include Bank of America and is the headquarters for the National Healthcare Corporation (NHC).

[61] Barfield Crescent Park is a 430-acre (1,700,000 m2) facility with eight baseball fields, 7 miles (11 km) of biking/running trails, an 18-hole championship disc golf course, and ten picnic shelters.

[63] In 2013, the city council approved a controversial 25-year "master plan" to extend the system by adding 173 miles worth of new greenways, bikeways and blueways at an estimated cost of $104.8 million.

[74] The Japanese Supplementary School in Middle Tennessee (JSMT, 中部テネシー日本語補習校 Chūbu Teneshī Nihongo Hoshūkō), a weekend Japanese education program, holds its classes in Peck Hall at Middle Tennessee State University, while its school offices are in Jefferson Square.

Likewise, the #3/#2 (renumbered from #3/4) continued to that period as an overnight train between Nashville and Atlanta, also making a stop in town.

[77] In April 2007 the City of Murfreesboro established a public transportation system with nine small buses, each capable of holding sixteen people and including two spaces for wheelchairs.